asset title: Grammar Lesson 20: This Just Isn't Spanish, Adapting to Handicapped filename: tafalado_gra_20.mp3 track number: 46/46 time: 11:03 size: 7.77 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Oh man, where did this word come from? After a whole series of lessons in pronunciation and grammar ... and now we learn a whole bunch of words where Spanish and Portuguese are totally different. If Tá Falado is supposed to show learners the similarities between these two languages, well, this lesson just won't do that. Toda...
Dec 11, 2007•11 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 19: Present Perfect, Naming People filename: tafalado_gra_19.mp3 track number: 45/46 time: 16:09 size: 11.36 MB bitrate: 96 kbps One of life's great mysteries is if a Brazilian marries someone from Venezuela, how do you figure out what their official name will be? We ought to be politicians because we spend the whole lesson talking about last names, middle names, and given names, but we never actually answer the question! In this lesson Michelle talks about what it ha...
Dec 04, 2007•16 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 18: Word Order, Buses and Services filename: tafalado_gra_18.mp3 track number: 44/46 time: 10:56 size: 7.69 MB bitrate: 96 kbps So how weird would it be to be a Brazilian in the United States and see for the first time a bicycle attached to the front of a city bus? Sure enough, that would never happen on a bus in Brazil. These are the kinds of observations that North Americans would never make because, well, we think it's normal. It's all a matter of perspective. This...
Nov 26, 2007•11 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 17: Também x Também não, Online Activities filename: tafalado_gra_17.mp3 track number: 43/46 time: 9:44 size: 6.85 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Spanish speakers who are used to saying tampoco will now have to learn how to say também não in Portuguese. It just sounds cute somehow. Culturally, Michelle and Valdo talk about all the things that are offered online in the United States, much more than in Brazil. In this lesson we also mention the sensitive subject of toll roads in A...
Oct 01, 2007•10 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 16: Placement of Indirect Pronouns, Greeting Friends filename: tafalado_gra_16.mp3 track number: 42/46 time: 12:33 size: 8.82 MB bitrate: 96 kbps In this lesson, Michelle claims that most people give women one kiss on the cheek when greeting and when saying goodbye. Valdo thinks that it is more common to give two kisses, one on each cheek. And there are even places where a third kiss is given. How difficult can it get? As to grammar, years ago Orlando was once caught ...
Sep 24, 2007•13 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 15: False Cognates, Driver's License filename: tafalado_gra_15.mp3 track number: 41/46 time: 10:50 size: 7.62 MB bitrate: 96 kbps No kidding, Orlando was in Mexico City one time and saw a man in Chapultepec Park who was selling helados esquisitos . Why would anyone want to buy 'weird' ice cream? Turns out, in Spanish esquisito means exquisite, and Mexicans actually like to have their helado esquisito! It's a positive thing. In Portuguese, esquisito means strange or we...
Sep 18, 2007•11 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 14: Absence of Direct Object Pronouns, Mobile Homes filename: tafalado_gra_14.mp3 track number: 40/46 time: 10:24 size: 7.32 MB bitrate: 96 kbps OK, so you are driving down the freeway and you see a semi going 70 mph and there is a mobile home being pulled along. Well, yes, I do see why that would seem rather shocking to a Brazilian. Thanks go to Valdo and Michelle for making that observation. Grammar-wise, we are also going to talk about dropping direct object pronou...
Sep 13, 2007•10 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 13: Gender in Portuguese and Spanish, Buying Alcohol filename: tafalado_gra_13.mp3 track number: 39/46 time: 11:33 size: 8.12 MB bitrate: 96 kbps To be clear, we are referring to gender agreement. Get ready: although gender is 95% the same between Spanish and Portuguese, there are a few words that change. Is it o leite or a leite ? O sal or a sal ? O origem or a origem ? Valdo and Michelle clarify things for us. Culturally, at what age can you buy alcohol in Brazil? D...
Aug 03, 2007•12 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 12: Personalized Infinitive, Paying for your Education filename: tafalado_gra_12.mp3 track number: 38/46 time: 13:07 size: 9.22 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Not only are Brazilians thought of as being very friendly, now they even want to personalize their infinitive verbs! Valdo and Michelle lead the way in showing us how to do the same. Culturally, we talk about the price of education in the United States. And take a peek at this picture! Orlando's really into the Texas Pride...
Jul 23, 2007•13 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 11: Topic-Comment Patterns, Special Needs Privileges filename: tafalado_gra_11.mp3 track number: 37/46 time: 12:01 size: 8.46 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Just look at that barriga ! Clearly the polite thing to do, at least in Brazil, would be to have a special line at banks, post offices, and supermarkets for those that have 'special' needs. However, the other day, in this condition, with that barriga , Michelle had to wait in line at the U.S. post office just like one of the...
Jul 16, 2007•12 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 10: Word Order of Negative Phrases, Paying for Parties filename: tafalado_gra_10.mp3 track number: 36/46 time: 11:25 size: 8.02 MB bitrate: 96 kbps 'Não, não sei não.' This is the pattern for Brazilians, to say 'no' three times in the sentence. It's not that Valdo and Michelle are negative people, but they sure get their point across. And speaking of their point of view, if YOU invite them to a party, YOU should really pay the tab! Dialog Portuguese Valdo: Michelle, v...
Jul 06, 2007•11 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 9: Possessive Pronouns, How to Dress Like an American filename: tafalado_gra_09.mp3 track number: 35/46 time: 12:29 size: 8.78 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Who would have ever guessed that Valdo and Michelle think that jeans and flip flops make a strange combination? Looks like we've just seen one more thing that makes Americans stand out. Note that this picture has got three Brazilians trying to dress like North Americans! Oh yes, and grammar-wise, we're talking about possess...
Jun 27, 2007•12 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 8: Plural of words that end in 'ão', Car Insurance filename: tafalado_gra_08.mp3 track number: 34/46 time: 13:22 size: 9.40 MB bitrate: 96 kbps So why is the plural of alemão alemães , but he plural of nação is nações ? And why would the plural of mão be mãos ? You know what, Valdo and Michelle have some hints to clear it all up. What's amazing is that they can talk about that and still have time to talk about car insurance in Brazil. Dialog Portuguese Michelle: Minha...
Jun 20, 2007•13 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 7: Para with Indirect Pronouns, Ice Water at Restaurants filename: tafalado_gra_07.mp3 track number: 33/46 time: 12:23 size: 8.71 MB bitrate: 96 kbps For all of you who learned how to speak Spanish, we all relive the nightmare experience of learning direct and indirect object pronouns. Lo is direct, le is indirect. When you use both put the indirect first; but you can't say le lo , so change le to se and then say se lo , as in se lo di 'I gave it to him' ... Bad memor...
Jun 14, 2007•12 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 6: The Verb 'Ficar', Studying in Cafés filename: tafalado_gra_06.mp3 track number: 32/46 time: 11:11 size: 7.87 MB bitrate: 96 kbps In this lesson Orlando dreams about being able to use the verb 'ficar' when he is talking in Spanish. Ah, if they just had that verb in Spanish, it would make things a lot easier. Of course, for you Spanish speakers, you now have a chance to add 'ficar' to your Portuguese. Whether it means to become, to be, to stay, to remain, to keep on,...
Jun 07, 2007•11 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 5: Disappearing Reflexive Verbs, Use of Coupons filename: tafalado_gra_05.mp3 track number: 31/46 time: 9:39 size: 6.79 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Here's a trick question for Spanish speakers: Would it be better in Portuguese to say the equivalent of 'Siéntate' or 'Siéntese'? Answer: Don't worry about the reflexive pronouns. Chances are that Brazilians won't use them either. In this lesson Valdo and Michelle help the rest of us to get a sense of the disappearing reflexive pr...
May 31, 2007•10 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 4: Future Subjunctive, Soda Refills at Restaurants filename: tafalado_gra_04.mp3 track number: 30/46 time: 13:55 size: 9.78 MB bitrate: 96 kbps When you go, you will buy a soda. If you buy a soda, you will get refills. As soon as you get refills, you will sit down with friends to talk. Those who sit and talk with friends, will have a great time. Yes, all of those sentences require the 'future subjunctive' in Portuguese. So, if you listen to Orlando, Valdo, Michelle, a...
May 25, 2007•14 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 3: Plurals with 'l', Gas Stations filename: tafalado_gra_03.mp3 track number: 29/46 time: 13:15 size: 9.31 MB bitrate: 96 kbps The plural of Brazil, if there were two of them, would be 'Brasis.' Now that would be a strange word! Spanish speakers aren't sure how to make those words that end in 'l' plural. Orlando, Valdo, Michelle, and José Luís try to tell us that it is as easy as drop the 'l' and add 'is,' but we're sure there is more to it than that. While they are t...
May 21, 2007•13 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 2: Contractions, Getting Change From A Machine filename: tafalado_gra_02.mp3 track number: 28/46 time: 12:20 size: 8.67 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Can you believe how many contractions Portuguese has? : nesse, num, do, naquele, aos, pelo, etc. The list goes on and on. When speakers of Spanish catch on to these contractions, sentences become instantly easier to understand. And that, of course, is what Orlando, Michelle, Valdo, and Jose Luís hope to do with today's lesson on c...
May 12, 2007•12 min
asset title: Grammar Lesson 1: Gostar vs. Gustar, Sitting on the Grass filename: tafalado_gra_01.mp3 track number: 27/46 time: 10:49 size: 7.61 MB bitrate: 96 kbps We've made a switch. Welcome back to all who have previously listened to Tá Falado. Up to this point, we've always done pronunciation lessons. Today we introduce something new, our first grammar lesson! From here on out we'll look at some of those items that make Spanish speakers shake their heads and say, 'I thought Portuguese and Sp...
May 08, 2007•11 min
asset title: Supplementary Lesson 2: Portuguese Consonant Sounds filename: tafalado_suppl_02.mp3 track number: 26/46 time: 5:33 size: 3.90 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Unlike the regular podcast lessons, we've included some other supplementary lessons. Think of these as a sort of Appendix to the regular lessons. In this second supplementary lesson, we provide an audio sample of all of major consonant sounds for Brazilian Portuguese. This should give you a sense of each of the sounds....
Apr 05, 2007•6 min
asset title: Lesson 24: Intonation filename: tafalado_24.mp3 track number: 25/46 time: 15:05 size: 10.61 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Today's lesson is totally different. Instead of listening to a dialog and comparing the sounds to Spanish, our team discusses a number of audio clips that illustrate Brazilian Portuguese intonation patterns. Do not worry about understanding what they clips are saying. The objective of today's lesson is to listen to the music, rhythm, and pitch of Brazilian Portuguese. And ...
Mar 28, 2007•15 min
asset title: Lesson 23: Cool Little Words, Nicknames filename: tafalado_23.mp3 track number: 24/46 time: 9:11 size: 6.46 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Let's see if we have this right? Michelle's family gave her the nickname 'witch' because of how moody she became when under stress at school, right? Wow, that's a mean nickname, at least from a North American point of view. This lesson is a bit different in that we don't look at pronunciation directly, but we do look at the little extra words that people ad...
Mar 23, 2007•9 min
asset title: Lesson 22: Epenthetic Vowels (wow, fancy word!), Fast Food filename: tafalado_22.mp3 track number: 23/46 time: 11:50 size: 8.32 MB bitrate: 96 kbps Epenthe ... what? Epenthetic vowels. We know, it sounds like a tropical disease, but it's really the linguistic feature that produces such great Brazilian words as 'piquenique' for picnic. Valdo isn't sure he can bring himself to say 'hoti doggie' for 'hot dog,' but he has no problem with 'fasti foodi.' Dialog Portuguese Valdo: Você já o...
Mar 19, 2007•12 min
asset title: Lesson 21: Pronunciation of Syllable-final 'l', Making Prints of Digital Photos filename: tafalado_21.mp3 track number: 22/46 time: 13:20 size: 9.38 MB bitrate: 96 kbps If you would like to say the name of their country correctly, Michelle and Valdo are here to show us how to say 'Brasil,' which really comes out more like 'Braziw.' That is the trick in lesson 21. They also share their experience at self-service digital photo machines. Dialog Portuguese Valdo: No Brasil a gente sempr...
Mar 13, 2007•13 min
asset title: Lesson 20: Pronunciation of 'lh', Automatic Sprinklers filename: tafalado_20.mp3 track number: 21/46 time: 12:38 size: 4.44 MB bitrate: 48 kbps The 'mulher molhada trabalhava' is rendered in Spanish as 'mujer mojada tabajaba.' That's our basic rule: words spelled with 'j' in Spanish are often spelled with 'lh' in Portuguese. However, you've got to hear the podcast to find out how they are pronounced. Culturally Valdo and Michelle admire the number of automatic sprinklers that are fo...
Mar 07, 2007•13 min
asset title: Lesson 19: Pronunciation of 'nh', Laundromats, Really? filename: tafalado_19.mp3 track number: 20/46 time: 11:25 size: 4.02 MB bitrate: 48 kbps Valdo and Michelle still can't get used to the idea of taking their clothes to a Laundromat and using the coin-operated machines. Sure enough, in Brazil you either wash clothes at home or pay someone else to do the laundry. As they talk of Laundromats, we'll hear the pronunciation of many words that are spelled with 'nh,' similar to the Span...
Mar 02, 2007•11 min
asset title: Lesson 18: Pronunciation of 'ch', You Call That a Steak House? filename: tafalado_18.mp3 track number: 19/46 time: 12:42 size: 4.47 MB bitrate: 48 kbps For the meat lovers of the world, we present the Brazilian-style 'churrascarias' and the 'rodízio' buffets. Get ready for over 30 different cuts of meat that will come by your table, and that doesn't include the salad bar either! Michelle is partial to 'coração de galinha' (chicken hearts). Valdo can't wait for the 'costelinha de car...
Feb 26, 2007•13 min
asset title: Lesson 17: Pronunciation of 'j', 'ge', and 'gi', Wearing That Tiny Bikini filename: tafalado_17.mp3 track number: 18/46 time: 15:02 size: 5.29 MB bitrate: 48 kbps From a North American perspective, the Brazilians have very skimpy swimming suits. However, from Valdo and Michelle's perspective, North American swimsuits are 'gigantes', 'enormes.' In the end, as Michelle explains, 'não importo, vou continuar com o meu biquini do Brasil' (I don't care, I'm going to keep on using my Brazi...
Feb 14, 2007•15 min
asset title: Lesson 16: Pronunciation of 'b', 'd', and 'g', Adding Tax to Purchased Items filename: tafalado_16.mp3 track number: 17/46 time: 10:28 size: 3.68 MB bitrate: 48 kbps For once, a lesson that is easy for native speakers of English, but tough for the native speakers of Spanish. We're talking about how to pronounce words with 'b', 'd', and 'g.' Just wait to hear Jose Luis say the word 'abogado'! As to the cultural topic, Valdo and Michelle are trying to get used to adding tax to the pri...
Feb 14, 2007•10 min
